KEY POINTS:
While his schoolmates were worrying about what to take for their first year of NCEA, 15-year-old Aaron Wong had already completed high school and was off to university.
The talented maths and science scholar, who today graduates with a masters degree in computer science at just 20, completed his high school education in just a couple of years.
Aaron insists starting university at 15 was no big deal - although he was one of the few students dropped off at Massey University's Auckland campus each day by mum or dad.
And he wasn't allowed to join his fellow students for a drink in the union bar.
His first friend at university was a decade older than him.
"I was used to being in class with older classmates," said Aaron, who arrived from Singapore as a child.
"Actually, it was my parents who were nervous, not me."
Aaron's mother, Winna Wong, first noticed her eldest son's inquisitive nature when he dismantled toy trains and trucks at age 2 to see how they worked.
"I would tell him off, I thought he was being destructive," she said.
Aaron's education was fast-tracked with the support of New Plymouth Boys High School principal Lyal French-Wright when he was obviously bored in class, said Mrs Wong.
Even studying at a level far beyond his years did not keep the computer game fanatic glued to the books.
"I tell him off for not studying enough," said Mrs Wong.
"Whenever I go to his room, he's always doing something else."
Aaron admitted university wasn't a complete breeze - he just scraped through a psychology paper he took in his first year.
"Writing long essays isn't my thing."
He said he sometimes thought about losing out on some typical teenage experiences but he had no regrets and was looking forward to joining "adult life" and perhaps moving out of home.
Aaron's new job as a computer programmer with Datacom from next week should help to put a dent in his student loan.
* Graduation ceremonies for more than 1000 students of Massey University's Albany campus will take place in the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna between today and Saturday.
The University of Auckland's ceremonies will be held next month.
The Auckland University of Technology's were last month.
